Tiered 2022 NBA Draft board tight at the top

For just the first time in the nine years I’ve been ranking NBA draft prospects by tiers, I gave strong consideration to putting three players in the top tier. As is, two players comprised the top tier for just the third time.

Which says something about the 2022 NBA Draft.

This draft doesn’t look particularly strong at the top. (Caveat: Draft-quality assessments at the time are often incorrect. Won’t stop me from making one, though.) Generally, the better the prospects, the more delineation.

It takes a while until there are prospects I feel good about in their draft slot compared to an average draft. This first-round draft board won’t show it, but this draft includes better prospects for the top half of the second round than usual. That group includes numerous wings/versatile forwards who are young and projectable or capable college veterans whose production might hold up at the next level. I obviously wouldn’t bet on them in the first round, or else they would’ve made by first-round board. But among the abnormally high number of viable second-round prospects at those always-in-demand positions, some are bound to pan out.

As for the players I did rank, here’s the methodology for my tier system:

Draft for need or take the best player available?

It’s the question as old as drafts themselves. Personally, I favor the middle-of-the-road approach – the tier system. I judge prospects on three attributes:

Obviously, assessing those attributes is not easy. It’s really hard.

That’s why I don’t like taking the best prospect – based on all three criteria – available. It’s just too difficult to split hairs between players with so many variables.

But overly considering fit is problematic for the same reason. Rosters churn, and it’s